PANGASINAN Second District Congressman Mark O. Cojuangco is hopeful that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will overcome politics surrounding his planned recommissioning of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), which has been mothballed for 38 years.
During a media tour on Saturday of the first nuclear power facility built in the country, the lawmaker said that the chief executive must be determined in making a decision, stressing it is time to explore reviving the BNPP amid the looming energy crisis in the Philippines.
As early as last year, the government has served warnings that the country will experience possible power supply challenges as Malampaya gas fields, supplying 30 percent of Luzon’s energy needs, are expected to be depleted by 2024. The country’s increasing population and electricity costs, which are among the highest in Southeast Asia, add up to the present energy woes.
For Cojuangco, exploring nuclear energy can help diversify energy sources to meet the demands for clean and reliable energy, particularly amid the skyrocketing energy prices and demands, increasing population, and the local and global push to decelerate climate change.
According to him, the most immediate action to be taken is the recommissioning of the BNPP since it is already existing.
He noted that it is more than feasible due to its high-quality structure. With its electrical capacity of 623 megawatts, BNPP could provide more than 10 percent of the Luzon grid’s requirement.
He added that it could help lower the cost of energy in the country, making it affordable especially for impoverished Filipinos.
Cojuangco was one of the members of the House of Representatives who filed a bill in the 19th Congress to push for the use of such power source, which was later adopted as the consolidated bill discussed by the Special Committee on Nuclear Energy.
If this passeds the Act will be known as the Philippine National Nuclear Energy Safety Act. This aims to create the Philippine Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (PhilATOM) and form a legal framework for the safe utilization of nuclear power.
